Thanksgiving Debrief

I am happy to report that I survived my first Thanksgiving as hostess, and I even enjoyed the non-stop cooking. The process was certainly made more enjoyable and feasible by the presence of my parents, both of whom are more talented in the kitchen than I. The food was delicious, and the company quite pleasant. And while I am not going to jump at the opportunity to host again next year, there is no small amount of joy in putting together a whole meal like this.

In addition to posting the recipes and my comments about them, I feel like I should share a few of the lessons I learned, for the inevitable day when you too have to host Thanksgiving dinner. Here’s the menu. I will post the recipes separately and link back as I go.

Thanksgiving Day Menu 2009

~ Drinks/Appetizer Course ~
Cranberry Slushy
Onion Tart

~ Dinner ~
Cranberry Sauce
Parmesan Bread
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Stuffing with Sausage and Mushrooms
Green Beans
Roasted Carrots
Cider Brined Free Range Turkey with Gravy

~ Dessert ~
Pumpkin Pie
Ginger Pear Upside Down Cake
Fresh Whipped Cream

And keep reading for a few lessons learned:

1. Make sure you have the equipment you need. I realized (fortunately in advance) that I did not have many things you might want/need to make this meal. Some non-obvious (to me at least) things you will need: (1) a meat thermometer (you may remember what happened to mine), (2) pie weights or some alternative, (3) a big ass fork to pick up and rotate the turkey while it is still cooking, (4) obscene amounts of tupperware for all of the leftovers.

2. Plan out the timing. This is the first time in awhile where I cooked a meal of this size in a house with only one oven (I know, I’m a spoiled brat), so that means you have to think about what you can do in advance and how you will position your oven racks. Here was my advance game plan: I made the cranberry sauce, the slushy, and the brine for the turkey on Monday. On Tuesday, I put the turkey in the brine and made the pie crust. On Wednesday afternoon I made the dough for the bread, made the onion topping for the tart, peeled the carrots, grated the cheese for the onion tart and bread, and trimmed the green beans.

3. Don’t overcook your turkey. This is clearly obvious, but thanks to my dad, I learned a bunch of ways to achieve this important goal. First, cook the turkey upside down for the first hour. This keeps all of the juices from running out of the white meet. Second, don’t stuff your turkey with stuffing. It sucks up the moisture from the bird. Instead, put your carrots, along with an apple and an onion inside the bird.

4. Try not to think about the butter content of the meal. It’s obscene and gross. Just try not to think about it.

5. Print out your recipes. My mom and I were working on the two desserts at the same time and tabbing back and forth on my computer between the two recipes. When she asked me “how much brown sugar in the pumpkin pie” and my answer was “zero brown sugar,” I accepted the perils of this plan. Especially if you’re going to have multiple cooks, printouts are a good way to avoid catastrophe.